PHILADELPHIA (April 20, 2010) – AstraZeneca, one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies, is taking its health and wellness message to the streets – that is to the professional cycling race course that traces a 14-mile circuit along city streets in Philadelphia and Manayunk as part of the TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship on Sunday, June 6, 2010.  The popular family-oriented Philly Fun Ride this year becomes the AstraZeneca Wellness Challenge, with the aim of inspiring hundreds of riders to adopt a healthy lifestyle and test their mettle on the same course that the pros will ride.

While the world’s most elite professional cyclists will hit the start line at 9 a.m. on race day, the AstraZeneca Wellness Challenge encourages cyclists of all levels to rise early and ride the pro course from 7:15 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.  Riders ages 12 and older are eligible to participate.  The course will be closed to traffic during the ride, which means cyclists can experience the rush of Kelly Drive, the Manayunk Wall, Lemon Hill and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway all at their own pace.

“The ability for amateur, recreational and even first-time cyclists to challenge themselves to a ride on our closed, professional race course is always a highly anticipated event within race day,” said David Chauner, president of Pro Cycling Tour, organizers of the TD Bank bike race.  “Now, as the AstraZeneca Wellness Challenge, this ride underscores the importance of cycling as part of a healthy, active lifestyle that can help reverse the rising trends of obesity and its related diseases in our region and the country,” he said.

AstraZeneca Wellness Challenge Promotes Good Health, Good Cause

To further that resolve and encourage AstraZeneca Wellness Challenge riders to train for the event, AstraZeneca is also teaming up with the American Diabetes Association’s Tour de Cure fundraising ride on Sunday, May 23, 2010.  The AstraZeneca Wellness Challenge will sponsor the Tour de Cure’s Red Rider team, which consists of cyclists who are living with diabetes.  The Tour de Cure will serve as an excellent training ride for the AstraZeneca Wellness Challenge on June 6, and will start and finish at the Temple University Ambler Campus in Ambler, PA.

“We are delighted to be joining forces with Pro Cycling Tour and the American Diabetes Association,” said Dr. Joseph Henry, Senior Director, Health and Well-being, AstraZeneca.  “As a healthcare company dedicated to improving the lives of people all over the world, we are especially proud to be focusing on cardiovascular health and diabetes prevention.  AstraZeneca has more than a 45-year legacy of discovering and developing some of the industry’s leading cardiovascular and diabetes treatments; however, we know that the best defense for all of us is a healthy, active lifestyle.”

Register Today 

Registration for the AstraZeneca Wellness Challenge can be done in advance online through the Pro Cycling Tour website, www.procyclingtour.com.

The fee is $40 per rider.  Ages 12 and up and all ability levels are invited.  Helmets are mandatory. All registrants will receive snacks, an official AstraZeneca Wellness Challenge t-shirt and rider number plus the chance of a lifetime to experience the course from a pro cyclist’s point of view.

For day-of registration, go to the main staging area at Kelly Drive and Sedgely just below the Art Museum, on Sunday, June 6 beginning at 6 a.m.  The day-of registration fee is $50. 

For complete information on the 2010 TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship, go to www.procyclingtour.com.

Registration for the Tour de Cure can be done in advance online through the ADA website, www.diabetes.org/TourdeCure, or click here (http://main.diabetes.org/greaterphilatourdecure) to go directly to the Greater Philadelphia sign up page.

The fee is $25 per rider.  Riders of all ages and abilities are welcome to ride in one of four routes, from family friendly to 15, 35 or 63 miles.  Helmets are mandatory. All registrants will receive snacks, an official Tour de Cure event t-shirt and full SAG support.

About Pro Cycling Tour

Pro Cycling Tour, based in Philadelphia, is the country's leading cycling marketing and event management company. Pro Cycling Tour creates and manages a variety of cycling events and special programs for corporate sponsors, non-profit organizations and municipalities. With over 40 years of combined cycling experience, the PCT team of marketing executives and operations experts, many of whom have worked together for over two decades, formed the company in 2000 out of the knowledge that cycling offers a unique platform to accomplish a variety of communications objectives for clients through expert marketing to America's growing audience of cycling fans and participants. As a sponsorship vehicle, PCT believes that cycling offers uncluttered advertising, communications, marketing and brand-building opportunities to corporations looking for a unique sports sponsorship forum.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a global, innovation-driven biopharmaceutical business with a primary focus on the discovery, development and commercialization of prescription medicines. As a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory and inflammation, oncology and infectious disease medicines, AstraZeneca generated global revenues of $32.8 billion in 2009. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $14.8 billion healthcare business.

For more information about AstraZeneca in the US or our AZ&Me™ Prescription Savings programs, please visit: www.astrazeneca-us.com or call 1-800-AZandMe (292-6363).

About TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank^®
TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 15 largest commercial banks in the United States with $152 billion in assets, and provides customers with a full range of financial products and services at more than 1,000 convenient locations from Maine to Florida. TD Bank, N.A., is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J., and Portland, Maine. TD Bank is a trade name of TD Bank, N.A. For more information, visit www.tdbank.com.  

TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Financial Group (TSX, NYSE: TD) of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America and one of the few banks in the world rated Aaa by Moody's.